July 2018

I invite you to click here view my latest photographs from my trip to China.   Click here to visit my complete photo gallery. Enjoy!   Love, Larry

Hi Everyone Still no internet. Have not had any news from the outside world in seven days. Cannot use WhatsApp to call my family and do not know what is happening. We are with people who do not seem to care about the outside world. There are no newspapers or television. Their world revolves around taking care of us and driving us through the Okavango Delta looking for wildlife. All the Camps are run by local people. There is not cheap labor brought in to run the Camps. Our Camp, Sable Alley, has room for only twenty guests and a staff of forty four take care of us. My laundry was taken last night and brought back today folded and clean. You can have laundry done every day. The meals are fantastic. There is breakfast, midday brunch, afternoon tea and coffee and finally dinner. At night your room is tidied up and the mosquito net is lowered. I have always liked sleeping under a mosquito net. It is like having your own cocoon. Our day started like it almost always starts on a photography trip. I woke up at 5 AM and a staff member came to my room to escort me to the main area. Everything is open air. There are no windows on the huts and the lobby and dining area are all open. Between sunset and sunrise you must be escorted by a staff member due to hippos roaming around the Camp. Will has already seen one and Alan and myself just heard one near our hut. Coffee and a light breakfast was served before we left for our morning drive. Going on safari is not like going to a wildlife park. You are not guaranteed to see anything. The wildlife is in their natural habitat. You are the intruder in their world. We drove until the sun started to rise and it started to warm up. Our guides periodically stop the vehicles to look on the ground for tracks and they can tell which animals made the tracks and how recent they are. Each vehicle has two guides. One is the driver and the other is the tracker. All the vehicles communicate with each other. Out guides spotted the tracks of a leopard. Seeing a leopard is quite rare. We followed the tracks and then spotted the leopard. He was so beautiful looking in this natural environment. He seemed to be out hunting and walked as if he was stalking something. My camera clicked away. We then saw a large herd of elephants. Giraffes followed and it seemed like all the wildlife had come to life together. After driving around through bushes and high grass, we returned to Camp around 11 AM tired and weary. As I am writing this blog, I am starting to fall asleep. Don’t forget, I write each blog at the end of the day. How can you be so tired when you drive around all day taking pictures of beautiful wildlife in their natural habitat? To be continued after our morning safari drive Slept like a log. It was so cold that I even kept my hot water bag in the bed with me. So let’s pick up where we left off We got back at 11 AM, downloaded our pictures, cleaned our cameras, took a shower and shaved. After brunch, Andy has set up a critique. We would each select five images and then Andy or Will would edit them with us. I love this exercise. I learn so much and watch true masters at their craft. I had Will. I have done this exercise with Andy, but never Will. Will is a world known wildlife photographer and I first met him on the boat in Antarctica. This is his business. He has photographed documentaries on meerkats, hyenas and many other wildlife around the world. Everyone has their own style of editing after they go through the basics. I presented my five images to Will without any of my own editing. We went at it. I immediately learned some more techniques. I had never edited the night shooting the Milky Way nor the black and whites of the male lion. He taught me some of those techniques and the only way you learn is by using them and experimenting. When I first started using Lightroom, I was in awe of the software. It is very complicated and has multiple layers. I then started using something called presets and saw what others were doing. Presets are steps that others have used and they are used by people who do not want to go through the bother of learning the software. I now hardly use any presets, but do my own editing. We had brunch and left the Camp. The afternoon drive was not very impressive, except for one location. Don’t forget, this is not your typical wildlife park. You need to find the wildlife. We turned a corner and came upon a dead zebra. The guide said the zebra was a young male. He said the cause of death was probably a snake bite by a black mamba. What is a black mamba? The black mamba is the deadliest snake in the world. It grows up to eight feet long and can stand seven feet high. Will said he saw one break the windshield of a truck. If the black mamba bites you, you die within twenty minutes guaranteed. There are also lots of pythons here. Pythons do not use their venom to kill, but wrap themselves around your neck and do it that way. The guide said you could walk up to a bush and get bitten by a black mamba hiding there. Whenever we stop for either refreshments or bathroom time, it is always in the open away from any vegetation. A jackal was eating the underside of the zebra as we arrived. We will be going back them tomorrow morning see what is being done with the zebra

Hi Everyone Still no internet. Have not had any news from the outside world in seven days. Cannot use WhatsApp to call my family and do not know what is happening. We are with people who do not seem to care about the outside world. There are no newspapers or television. Their world revolves around taking care of us and driving us through the Okavango Delta looking for wildlife. All the Camps are run by local people. There is not cheap labor brought in to run the Camps. Our Camp, Sable Alley, has room for only twenty guests and a staff of forty four take care of us. My laundry was taken last night and brought back today folded and clean. You can have laundry done every day. The meals are fantastic. There is breakfast, midday brunch, afternoon tea and coffee and finally dinner. At night your room is tidied up and the mosquito net is lowered. I have always liked sleeping under a mosquito net. It is like having your own cocoon. Our day started like it almost always starts on a photography trip. I woke up at 5 AM and a staff member came to my room to escort me to the main area. Everything is open air. There are no windows on the huts and the lobby and dining area are all open. Between sunset and sunrise you must be escorted by a staff member due to hippos roaming around the Camp. Will has already seen one and Alan and myself just heard one near our hut. Coffee and a light breakfast was served before we left for our morning drive. Going on safari is not like going to a wildlife park. You are not guaranteed to see anything. The wildlife is in their natural habitat. You are the intruder in their world. We drove until the sun started to rise and it started to warm up. Our guides periodically stop the vehicles to look on the ground for tracks and they can tell which animals made the tracks and how recent they are. Each vehicle has two guides. One is the driver and the other is the tracker. All the vehicles communicate with each other. Out guides spotted the tracks of a leopard. Seeing a leopard is quite rare. We followed the tracks and then spotted the leopard. He was so beautiful looking in this natural environment. He seemed to be out hunting and walked as if he was stalking something. My camera clicked away. We then saw a large herd of elephants. Giraffes followed and it seemed like all the wildlife had come to life together. After driving around through bushes and high grass, we returned to Camp around 11 AM tired and weary. As I am writing this blog, I am starting to fall asleep. Don’t forget, I write each blog at the end of the day. How can you be so tired when you drive around all day taking pictures of beautiful wildlife in their natural habitat? To be continued after our morning safari drive Slept like a log. It was so cold that I even kept my hot water bag in the bed with me. So let’s pick up where we left off We got back at 11 AM, downloaded our pictures, cleaned our cameras, took a shower and shaved. After brunch, Andy has set up a critique. We would each select five images and then Andy or Will would edit them with us. I love this exercise. I learn so much and watch true masters at their craft. I had Will. I have done this exercise with Andy, but never Will. Will is a world known wildlife photographer and I first met him on the boat in Antarctica. This is his business. He has photographed documentaries on meerkats, hyenas and many other wildlife around the world. Everyone has their own style of editing after they go through the basics. I presented my five images to Will without any of my own editing. We went at it. I immediately learned some more techniques. I had never edited the night shooting the Milky Way nor the black and whites of the male lion. He taught me some of those techniques and the only way you learn is by using them and experimenting. When I first started using Lightroom, I was in awe of the software. It is very complicated and has multiple layers. I then started using something called presets and saw what others were doing. Presets are steps that others have used and they are used by people who do not want to go through the bother of learning the software. I now hardly use any presets, but do my own editing. We had brunch and left the Camp. The afternoon drive was not very impressive, except for one location. Don’t forget, this is not your typical wildlife park. You need to find the wildlife. We turned a corner and came upon a dead zebra. The guide said the zebra was a young male. He said the cause of death was probably a snake bite by a black mamba. What is a black mamba? The black mamba is the deadliest snake in the world. It grows up to eight feet long and can stand seven feet high. Will said he saw one break the windshield of a truck. If the black mamba bites you, you die within twenty minutes guaranteed. There are also lots of pythons here. Pythons do not use their venom to kill, but wrap themselves around your neck and do it that way. The guide said you could walk up to a bush and get bitten by a black mamba hiding there. Whenever we stop for either refreshments or bathroom time, it is always in the open away from any vegetation. A jackal was eating the underside of the zebra as we arrived. We will be going back them tomorrow morning see what is being done with the zebra

Hi Everyone Let’s start the morning off by telling you a little about the Kalahari Desert. The Kalahari is not really a desert as most of us know a desert. The desert area has been receding and is being replaced by tall grass lands and more wildlife. The Kalahari seemed to be similar to the high desert area around Tucson. Climate change is causing the Kalahari to readjust.  The desert area is called the “Pan”. The Pan is a hard surface that is made up of salt deposits and other minerals. The Pan area is called the Makgadikgadi. When we went to the Island of the Baobabs, we went on our quads through the Makgadikgadi. There were also some surface areas that felt like a soft spongy cushion with beautiful patterns drawn by the environment. Will said he can envision that the Kalahari will one day be similar to the Serengeti. Wilder Beasts, Zebras, Meerkats, Springboks, some single Elephants, Lions and smaller animals roam the grasslands. There are no sand dunes like the Gobi. By the way, the Gobi is known to have the largest sand dunes in the world. Refer to my pictures taken in October last year. Now that you understand a little about the Kalahari, I had an amazing photography experience our last morning in the Kalahari. Knowing that my chances are almost zero that I will ever return to this remote part if the world, I hoped that the Kalahari would give me a grand send off and she did. We started our morning by all meeting at six AM for our drive to look for wildlife. As the sun began to rise, we came across a large herd of wilder beasts grazing and playing. The sun was rising in the background that created a beautiful scene. We then drove and drove looking for some more wildlife. We were split up into two separate vehicles and my guide was “Bones”. Bones is very friendly and knows an encyclopedia of knowledge about the Kalahari. He decided to look for the lion that had been spotted over the previous days. We drove and drove but saw nothing. Each safari truck has walkie talkies and the guides communicate amongst each other. Bones took us out to the start of the Makgadikgadi and then he spotted them. There was two lions, male and female, and the male was following the female. We were the first truck to spot them. It is very rare to see lions in the Makgadikgadi and since there was no grass around, they were both visibly outstanding. Each lion sat down facing each other. Then the fun started. The female started to taunt the male. They were having foreplay. The male chased the female a little and then the female gave up. The male mounted the female. The five of us couldn’t believe what we were seeing and couldn’t stop clicking. A little about lion breeding. Lions breed for three straight days in twenty minute intervals and do not eat during this time. The alpha male normally has a few females. The females are the hunters. The males are kept by the females and their only purpose is to breed. What an animal. If a female gives birth to cubs that are not the alpha males cubs, then he will kill them. The urge to pass on the alpha males genes is very strong. This is what the Kalahari gave me for a going away present. My images appear to be outstanding. The other vehicle arrived after the fact. Being in the right place at the right time. A memory that will last forever. Thank you Kalahari We arrived around 8 for breakfast. It was then time to pack and head for our flight to the Okavango Delta. We loaded all our luggage on a truck and got into the other truck. A short drive brought us back to the dirt landing strip we had arrived on. We boarded the local bush plane and took off. A ten passenger single prop plane. No bathrooms nor stewardesses. We were flying below the clouds. The topography started to change and as we flew north, the green started to appear more and more. After fifty minutes, we landed on another dirt landing strip. We were met by three safari vehicles and were then taken to our home for the next four nights. This Camp is named “Sable Alley” and has been only open for one year. The Camp faces a large lagoon. We were told that at night we had to be escorted to our huts. Hippos are in the lagoon and surrounding area and they walk through the Camp all night long. Hippos normally stay in the water during the heat of the day and then go on land to forage at night. The Camp is built on stilts to keep the hippos out of them. The Camp manager also told us that lions and hyenas are very prominent and also pass through Camp. George the elephant was tame according to this situation. At 3 we all met for afternoon tea and coffee. It was then off to our first venture into the Okavango Delta. We will have three safari vehicles so there is lots of room to take good pictures. The safari vehicles can drive and go through anything. We first came across a single elephant drinking water. What a beautiful sight. It was then off to explore. We came upon impalas and other horned animals. We then had a real treat. A pack of wild dogs ran by us. Wild dogs are becoming extinct and the species will probably die out in the near future. They are so beautiful with their large ears and beautiful colors. Quite rare to see wild dogs. We then came upon a herd of about twenty elephants. There were lots of babies. We got so close to them that we could almost touch them. The last animal we saw was a

Hi Everyone It seems like I have been away for much longer than I have and my Africa adventure is still less than half way over. Last night, after writing the blog, I crawled onto my sleeping bag and immediately took out two hot water bags. The sky was lighted up with the most stars I had ever seen. I just laid on my back looking up and wondering about lots of things. I know how lucky I am to have experienced a place like the “Island of the Baobabs”. So few people have experienced this magical place and to be able to see the things I have seen. I woke up at around six and immediately grabbed one of my cameras to shoot the sunrise through the Baobabs. I know that this will be the only time I will ever be in a place like this and wanted to capture as much as the beauty and serenity as possible. After shooting I needed my morning coffee and then had breakfast. The staff put together our long table and chairs and served us a nice hot breakfast under the Baobabs. It was now time to board our quad cycles for the three hour ride through the Makgadikgadi Pans. I was looking forward to this final ride through the Pans. Just to feel like you are alone in one of the most desolate and remote places in the world is a real experience. We took off in a straight line and started the journey back. I got the quad cycle up to around 65 km and was buzzing as we went along. My back started to hurt and my right thumb, which is used to regulate the gas, started to get stiff and hurt. Let’s talk about backs for a minute. When I get up in the morning, I am quite stiff and need to loosen myself up through the day. When I camped out on slept on the ground, I did not wake up stiff and my body and joints felt great. Maybe I should just sleep on the floor at home and away. We stopped a few times to stretch and take some water. With the wind at our backs and driving into the sun, I felt as free as I had ever been. My mind was only focused on the ride and the remote beauty around us. We finally arrived back at where we had picked up the quads two days ago. I knew that I had experienced something that very few people have ever done. To ride through the Makgadikgadi Pans on a quad cycle and then sleep for two nights under the stars amidst a forest of Baobabs. How many people could claim this experience? There were two safari land cruisers waiting for us and off we went back to Camp Kalahari. I was so waiting for the royal throne and a hot shower. Our driver was very talkative and some other guides had seen a lion in the area, so he decided to investigate and try and spot him. I was almost busting at the seams when we finally arrived back at Camp Kalahari. A high speed three hour quad ride will shake up your insides. Lunch was served and warm towels were given too everyone to try and shake off some of the dust from the Pan. We had free time until four. I immediately took care of business and then plugged all my gadgets, batteries, iPad, laptop etc into some plugs. This Camp does not have electrical plugs in each hut. There is a common area charge station where there are strips to plug in your devices. You should see the insanity of this situation. Imagine ten photographers needing everything charged all at once. Quite chaotic. Andy took charge of the insanity. The hot shower was so nice. I just stood under the water trying to wash off all the dust and grime of the drive. Your eyes become particularly watery as dust, dirt and grime constantly fly into them as you drive over the Pan. At four we left to shoot the same family of meerkats from two days ago returning to their dens for the night. The scene was unbelievable as the meerkats rain back to their dens and prepared for the cold of the night. The meerkats were very playful and all thirteen of them took a one last sun bath before returning to their dens. Andy had a surprise for us. Cobra, the head of the San people, met us at the meerkat den. We then took pictures of him and pictures of him as the sun set in the background. Cobra says he is sixty eight and he took some pictures with me. I wonder what stories he could tell. Did not speak any English, but still would have loved to hear them. One of our guides, Dabby, told us that he had seen Cobra crawl into an Aardvark hole or den for about thirty minutes. Cobra is over six feet tall. Dabby was starting to get worried when Cobra emerged with some pythons. Can you imagine? We are leaving tomorrow for the Delta and a camp named “Sable Alley”. The Kalahari was truly memorable and I will always remember my time spent here. We fly by bush plane and then go to the Camp. Bush planes are great. You do not have to go through the craziness of airport activity. Your bags are taken for you, they are loaded into the plane, you pass through airport security and walk on the runway to the plane. Of course, no bathroom and stewardesses to serve you refreshments that you don’t need. You also fly quite low so you can really observe the ground under you. You fly over landscapes and wilderness. There are no cities, towns and villages that you can see. Of course, there is only one propeller engine. If that engine conks out, goodbye. I have

Hi Everyone Let’s go back to last night. Finished the blog and then opened up my sleeping bag to crawl in. Two hot water bags were in my sleeping bag. Of course, I took them out and tried to go to sleep. I normally read before sleeping, but all six men are sleeping in a row near each other and I did not want to disturb anyone. After tossing and turning, I eventually fell asleep. There is something very surreal when you look up and see a planetarium of stars. This was my ceiling. No windows, doors nor walls. How beautiful is that. Woke up briefly at around 5 AM and then went back to sleep when I was finally awoken at 6:15 by others moving around . When I got up, I realized that my body was not stiff and my back did not hurt. I was sleeping on the hard ground. Andy was up getting really to shoot daybreak. My camera was on a tripod and I had set it up for time lapse photography last night. Went to get my camera down and saw that a 64g card had taken 864 images until the camera died. I then will process those images through specific software that creates star trails around a baobab. This process will take several weeks after I return. Missed the daybreak photography. Had some great African coffee and breakfast. The cook makes eggs on an open fire and the bread is also toasted that way. We all eat on one long table and outside in the open of course. Very cool. Our first morning activity was to take around a two hour quad cycle ride over the Makgadikgadi to take pictures of the patterns on the Salt Pan. We all got into our lines and off we went. The exhilaration you feel speeding over the salt flats is a feeling that will stay with me for a long time. We stopped at our first location. The ground felt like a hard foam sponge. Most of us laid down on the ground and took images. The patterns in the soft ground was very unique. It was then onto our next location and more of the same thing with patterns and lines making different images and shapes. You can find beauty anywhere and in the most desolate place I had ever been to, was awesome. It was then back for lunch and resting until 5 PM. After lunch I downloaded some more images. What does one do in the bush on safari? You could either take a nap, talk or take a bush shower. I picked the bush shower. What is a bush shower.? A stall is set up as a tent with no roof. There is a bag that hangs from a pole and a man brings a large bucket of warm water and pours it into a box that flows down to the shower line. A shower head is set up at the end you can shut the water by turning a valve. The problem was taking off your clothes and then putting them back on. There was a small wooden platform under the shower head. I first rinsed off, then shut off the water and soaped up and then turned the water back on. The water on my body was very refreshing. I dried very fast, got dressed and felt refreshed. Only two of us took bush shower, Andy and myself Traveling over the Makigadikgadi via quad cycle creates large amounts of dust and dirt that gets all over you. The problem is your eyes. Even though you wear sunglasses, the dust eventually gets into your eyes. You also need to put on lots of sun protection. Even though you do not feel hot, the sun is intense. At 5 PM we all met to go out and shoot the sunset. What a sunset it was. The setting sun created a golden look on the grasses and the lights hitting the baobabs created a truly great location. Dinner was served at 7:30 and lamb shank was on the menu. I gave a toast. My toast was that I wished the baobabs lived another 1000 years. Will told us that some of the baobabs have died because of the climate is changing so much. Baobabs are not really trees, but succulents. They are normally found as one tree and never as a group. This is only one of two locations in the world where there are numerous baobabs in one area. The other baobab forest is in Madagascar. It was then time to shoot the Milky Way again. The Milky Way is so prominent in the sky. With a baobab as the prop, the Milky Way created a beautiful setting. We then went to set up our cameras for a night of time lapse photography again. We are driving back to Camp Kalahari tomorrow to rest up, take showers and pack for our bush plane flight to the Okavango Delta. I am growing to love the real Africa. The beauty is all around us. Love Larry Sent from my iPad